Contact with the Police in Early Schizophrenia: Its Nature,Frequency and Relevance to the Outcome of Treatment

The nature and frequency of contacts with the police were documented in a sample of 253 patients, prior to hospitalization for treatment of a first schizophrenic illness. Contact had occurred in nearly 22 per cent of the sample, and was related to male sex, unemployment and disturbed behaviour. Those with police contact did not differ from their peers in terms of race, mother tongue or duration of hospitalization, but there is a suggestion of an increased liability to relapse.